DCA 2023 Championships -- featuring Chuck Mangione

[N.E. Brigand]

As you may have heard, Drum Corps Associates, the primary governing body for all-age drum and bugle corps competitions, will be partnering next year with Drum Corps International, the primary governing body for junior drum and bugle corps competitions, to present the all-age finals in Indianapolis on the same August weekend as DCI's regular championships.

Accordingly, today through Sunday marks a milestone, because the DCA championships have been held on Labor Day weekend every year since the third such event in 1967 -- and for the two years, the championships were actually held even later in September. The final such DCA weekend starts today in Rochester. Here is a link to DCA's website. Note that it is possible to purchase a livestream of many events via Box5 video.

All times below are Eastern Daylight Time.

Friday (9/1) -- Individual & Ensemble Competition
This runs in and around Rochester's convention center. It starts tonight at 5:55 p.m. (link to full schedule), culminating late in the evening with the Mini Corps competition.

(It appears that Eric Carr will again be competing on five different percussion instruments.)

Here is the Mini Corps schedule for this evening:
9:00 p.m. -- White Sabers
9:15 p.m. -- Valley Thunder
9:30 p.m. -- Bridgemen
9:45 p.m. -- Phoenix
10:00 p.m. -- Warriors
10:15 p.m. -- Tri-Valley Brass
10:30 p.m. -- North Coast Brass
10:45 p.m. -- Brig Juice
11:00 p.m. -- Freelancers
11:15 p.m. -- Star United

(Some years ago, Cincinnati Tradition played both in Mini Corps competition and regular DCA competition, with the former show being a reduced version of the latter. I hope that the White Sabers aren't doing that this year.)

The schedule for tonight lists a tribute to Chuck Mangione at 8:00 p.m. As described in this story on DCI's (not DCA's) website, this tribute will be hosted by Steve Rondinaro and will feature performances of some Mangione tunes by the Hawthorne Caballeros Alumni corps, and Mangione himself will be in attendance.

The other three events will be held at Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium (formerly Sahlen Stadium), which has primarily been a soccer venue and has hosted DCA's championships five times in the past ten years.

Saturday (9/2) -- DCA Prelims
----Class A----
4:00 pm -- Columbus Saints (70.00)
4:17 pm -- Govenaires (70.55)
4:34 pm -- Skyliners (75.50)
4:51 pm -- Rogues Hollow Regiment (79.25)
----Open Class----
5:08 pm -- Cincinnati Tradition (81.85)
5:25 pm -- Fusion Core (84.75)

(5:42 pm -- intermission)

6:30 pm -- White Sabers (85.00)
6:47 pm -- Hurricanes (86.50)
----World Class----
7:04 pm -- Atlanta CV (88.80)
7:21 pm -- Bushwackers (89.00)
7:38 pm -- Caballeros (93.60)
7:55 pm -- Buccaneers (94.90)

Shown above are the highest scores received during the regular season. Govenaires haven't been judged since July 11, so they may see a huge jump Saturday.

Sunday (9/3) -- Alumni Spectacular
Starts at 10:00 a.m. Lineup has not yet been announced. This is an exhibition event.

Sunday (9/3) -- DCA Finals
Starts at 5:00 p.m. All Prelims corps will advance. Performance order will be based on Prelims scores. There will apparently be a full retreat featuring a mass performance of "God Bless America."

[N.E. Brigand]

A family emergency made it impossible for me to get up to Rochester today (and the rest of the weekend is in some doubt for me), but I did watch part of the Mangione tribute (he was indeed there, right in the front row) and all of the mini corps competition on the Box5 stream. They're tabulating the latter now while announcing the various I&E winners. There was a clear top two, I think, and if I were the judges, I think I'd give Freelancers the edge over Star United, with both scoring about 98. We'll know soon.

What's a flugel-bone? (Donny Allen, who used to lead the Ghost Riders mini corps, just won an award for playing one.)

[N.E. Brigand]

Eric Carr won at least four awards; they were going by too fast for me to keep up. He was also the drummer with the Phoenix mini corps, who played the music of "Little Shop of Horrors."

[N.E. Brigand]

The first five DCA Mini Corps scores were inaudible because Box 5 was playing a cover of 'Higher Love" while the announcer read them, so this (1st-5th place) is all I could make out:

1. Freelancers -- 98.17
2. Star United -- 97.50
3. Northcoast Brass Company -- 93.83
4. White Sabers -- 92.33
5. Tri-Valley Brass -- 90.50
6. Brig Juice -- 90.17
7. Phoenix -- 84.83
8. Valley Thunder -- 84.17
9. Warriors -- 82.17
10. Bridgemen Brass -- 81.83

I'll fill in the rest after it's published on DCA's website.

Hey, I had the top two in the same order as the judges and with approximately the same scores!

Edited to add the remaining (6th-10th place) scores.

[N.E. Brigand]

(Last I checked, last night's I&E and mini corps scores still hadn't been posted to DCA's site.)

Still not able to leave town, but I hope to get up to Rochester this evening and catch both the Alumni Spectacular tomorrow morning and the DCA Finals tomorrow evening. But I've just started watching the Prelims on the live stream. I missed all but the last ten seconds of the Columbus Saints' show. I noticed they trooped the stands after their performance. I assume they were given permission to do so. I'll try to add notes for each of the remaining corps' performances, starting with:

The Governaires, "Paparazzi"
Three Italian or Roman facades. Front ensemble points to something in the distance. The DM salute includes something in Italian. Lively Latin beat. Heavy synth is dialed down. John Mayer, formerly their lead DM but in a supporting role since last year, makes an announcement. He's wearing in white shirt and green scarf. The opener is a little muddy. On the stream, the balance has the front ensemble overwhelming the marching corps. The first number ended a bit hesitantly. The next started with a nice trumpet solo. The soloist has a camera with the old-fashioned flash bulb hanging from her neck. Now a quintet of muted trumpets are on the sideline. Mayer occasionally said something I couldn't make out. There was an amplified trombone or baritone solo (I couldn't see it). The synthesizer was bestrewn with photographs. Three tubas shouldn't need further doubling from a synth. There was a moment in the closer where they struggled to sustain. Very busy battery writing. The music included Lady Gaga and Esquivel. I counted 15 brass, 5 battery, 8 in the pit, 8 guard, and 2 drum majors. My score: 76.

It's supposed to be a high camera stream, but it frequently includes closeups.

[N.E. Brigand]

Skyliners, "The Power of Three"
At first, because they're larger (26 brass, 7 battery, 7 pit, 2 DMs, but just 4 in the guard), with a full sound in the opening Saint-Saens hit, it seemed likely that they'd rank ahead of Govies. But I'm not so sure. This felt like a pretty rough run. The second tune started with a baritone soloist that became a duet with a mellophone and then with a trumpet, and the rest of the corps playing softly to the backfield. Later trumpets and mellophones ran up to a block and then the low brass came in fairly effectively. I didn't recognize the vaguely familiar rock ballad in three-quarter time. The show is a bit of a jumble and I hope they can get a lot of cleaning in before tomorrow night's final performance. I have no idea what the title refers to. My score: 74.

[N.E. Brigand]

Rogues Hollow Regiment, "Groovin'"
Start in a diamond. Full sound. A screamer early on. But really it's just a few chords, not much of an opener. The snapping gesticulation feels like filler. Get to the music, please. OK, now we've got the Beatles' "Got to Get You Into My Life." A quartet jams, with more enthusiasm than achievement. A trumpet soloist is a bit dull. The trio that follows is fine. As you can tell from the foregoing, lots of small ensemble work. Now a little drill. You can tell based on the placement of the back DM that they're going to limit themselves to the only part of the field. Nice tuba groove on "Uptown Funk." Lots of shouts during trumpet solo. OK, the full corps hits during the next trumpet solo sound very fine. I preferred their uniforms of year's past. The drill during the next tuba break should be more. But the groove here is pretty tight. Another trumpet solo is meh. But the number ends well. Ballad stars with a baritone solo, joined by a flugelhorn. It's a jazzy version of "How Deep Is Your Love," isn't it? But now I'm hearing echoes of the Blue Devils' famous version of "When a Man Loves a Woman." The two mallet players each have a marimba and a xylophone set at right angles. I counted 24 brass, 11 battery, 5 pit, 6 guard, and 2 drum majors. This show got stronger as it went on. My score: 79. If they tighten up the first half, I could see it three points higher.

I reached out to Box5 about the high camera stream showing the multicam feed, and they said it would take until the intermission or maybe even tomorrow to fix. Why?

[N.E. Brigand]

That marked the end of the four corps in Class A. Now we move to the corps in Open Class, two each before and after the intermission.

Cincinnati Tradition, "Overgrown"
There are white props that look like short trellises. The front ensemble starts. The corps does some body work. Mellos are doubled by synth. I could do without the synth chords, but this is driving forward fairly well. Field coverage seems limited so far (apart from the opening seet). Some nice full sounds from the mellophones. The transition that follows is dull. Also a bit of static in their speakers? The props now have some greenery and flowers. A short full corps passage followed by a concert baritone solo which becomes a concert baritone duet. The corps backs them up. This drill really is confined. Too much cymbal roll as filler here: have longer phrases that flow and develop. This feels like two measures -- fill -- two measures -- fill -- repeat. Delicate mallet playing and a delicate battery break. Some horn flares in a standstill passage that's not terribly interesting. All of CT's shows to date, including even the two that did best, strike me as preparatory work for a better corps to come in the future. Lots of demonstrations of what they can do but not real shows. RHR will get a lower score, but parts of their show were much more interesting than this. A soft ending with a repeated piano theme. I count 24 brass, 13 battery, 8 pit, 17 guard, and 3 drum majors. They were playing original music per the announcer. (He said "Growth and Abundance," but I'm not sure if that's the title of the music or just description of the theme.) My score: 80.

[N.E. Brigand]

Fusion Core, "Rise Up"
I see full field mics. And a boxing ring. In the back are a couple props also suggesting the corners of a boxing ring. Is the announcer live? Yes, he is. Much sounds coming through the speakers. But they're setting up a plot. Two different Fusion Corps fighting each other? Need to work harder on getting that plot visually clear. Corps is in athletic wear, sort of. Sounded a bit like the "Battle of Yorktown" from Hamilton for a moment. Setting aside my distaste for amplification, this is a much more difficult show than the five before it. Anyway there's a lot going on. Now we're transitioning to the ballad with some clips of Sylvester Stallone from one of the Rocky (or Creed?) films. I wish it wouldn't play over the music, particular the solos. I would try to find a way to hide the wheels on the prop; extend the skirt all the way to the field. More narration. An exercise montage. Jumping rope. Growly trainer voice. First corps with a full-size drumline. A quote of Muhammad Ali. Small brass line for size: 22. Rifle duet had a drop at a climactic moment. And now the 1812 Overture. Naturally the multicam which I would rather not see in the first place was not pointed at the ring when one opponent won in a knockout. My score: 85. With some doubts.

[N.E. Brigand]

Intermission has ended. On to the next corps:

White Sabers, "Invasion"
Pine trees in the back right. Radio broadcast of big band music interruted by announcement of mysterious blue lights. Large tower propdown left. Generally I would prefer never to have voice (especially prerecorded) talk over music. Bit too much synth there. Lots of guard counting. Reference to alien abduction. Trombone schmears. The multicam that's supposed to be high cam is getting worse. I want longer musical selections with less talking. Am I repeating myself? Well that's how it feels listening to this show. (Also the frequent "ladies and gentlemen" is starting to remind me of "yowsa yowsa yowsa.") Really there is some good stuff here, but the narration is so lame. Too much synth in the big hit. Somehow humanity defeated the aliens. Do we need this hokey closing narration. My score: 86, I guess. I liked last year's show much more.

[N.E. Brigand]

Connecticut Hurricanes, "Channel Green"

Four large screens midfield with images of the 1960s. Frank Sinatra singing "Stormy Weather" before they start. One of their drummers looks a bit like Al Yankovic. The uniform tops are neat: half olive green military jacket, half patterned like a 1960s curtain. Quotes about hippies and corps goes into "White Rabbit." To this point, the show has felt a bit disjointed. But they have a pretty big sound. There's a ramped platform just behind the pit. Now quotes about the moon landing. A well designed show wouldn't need the vocal cues to tell us what's going on. Trombone solo on "Rocket Man." (A little bobble in there.) The screens, now at left, flip around to reveal the show title. Parts of this were quite good. My score: 88. Although I think maybe all my scores have been a touch inflated, if I think back to what scored an 88 in past years.

[N.E. Brigand]

Atlanta CV, "Off With His Head"
Six screen with portraits of Henry VIII's wives, framed in purpose. Uh oh, some sort of electronics troubles. (Long enough that a penalty is likely.) That should never ever happen. It just shouldn't be possible. If you're going to use electronics, then you should be committed to making sure they're going to work every time, and you should be done with your check within a minute of entering the field, and you should have a backup plan ready to go. If you can't guarantee this, don't use electronics. Shame on the staff for this. Prerecorded vocal intro: "Divorced, behead, died, divorced, beheaded, survived." Starts with "Bohemian Rhapsody." Big sound on the move but felt a little flat. Brass feature while kneeling. Multicam isn't helping me follow the plot. The screens tur around and then are draped with a flag. Ballad stars with a baritone solo. (Screens are catching too much sunlight. When reversed, they have a floral pattern on them, but they appear from a distance to be all white.) Hey a crown set! There is a throne midfield in the back. The whoe corps strikes a pose on the front hash. Battery feature and some body movement. We're already to number five, which starts with a tuba feature. Good sized DCA corps, and they have ten tubas. Some pleasing drill. But aren't using lots of the field. Number six kills the king. Final set is another, taller crown. My score: 90.

[N.E. Brigand]

Bushwackers: "A Walk in Their Shoes: A Tale of Tinseltown"
Nine screens backfield spell "Hollywood" in all caps like the famous sign. The corps is wearing hats, which I like. There's a round red stage near the front on side 2. The uniform tops ae red and yellow separated by a black lightning boly. Audio clips about fame. Is this from the recent and notoriously flopped film Babylon? Sound is a bit jumbled and unbalanced to start. I'm not a fan of shows opening with a one-minute or less scene-setting piece. Just get right into it. You only have about ten minutes. Not sure I like the half skirt drops. Lots of battery. Feels like a drum line with some accompaniment. Second corps today to use Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi." Baritone duet. (My feed cut out for about 20 seconds here.) Do we really need a lesson about the seductions of fame? With all this talking? Shut it up. But while the field coverage bandagain seems limited (although just as I type this they expand out a bit) and the arrangements a bit dull, the marching and playing are pretty solid. Still, all the talking and talking and talking, ugh. Looks like some fast drill while playing but the camera only caught the edge of it. What was the movie quote about being satisfied just to entertain -- Sullivan's Travels, perhaps? And our second red carpet of the night. My score: 89.5.

[N.E. Brigand]

Hawthorne Caballeros: "Take Me to Church"
Honor guard has been on field for a few minutes as the front ensemble set up, but I don't see the rest of the corps. I think the sun has set in Rochester, but here's it's still shining. OK, some preshow sounds (organ on "Ave Maria" and a priest intoning), and the corps comes on field in character of some sort, carrying and pulling props. The preshow sounds dominated by ominous bass chords. Narrator announces show, sounds like Giancarlo Esposito. Extensive battery introduction. Some props are draped in black. Others are pale wooden benches. Big hits from corps. A step up from all previous corps. Looks like a curved cross on its side in drill? Corps in all black. Half skirts and sequins. Music is dark and intense. Some of the corps gesture as if anointing others. The guard have golden staves. Interesting: the battery alone among the corps are wearing hats. Mellophone quartet seated on bench. Maybe an error or two in there, though. Is that "House of the Rising Sun"? Yes it is. Trumpets make it clear. Can we please have more DCA corps at this quality? Seems like just a few years ago, you could count on there being at least five such. Oh, some of the corps have changed to red and gold tops, the battery among them (and the latter have lost their hats). The black looked better, but the contrast also works well. The props have spun around to reveal church windows. Some minor issues with breath support just after that. This section feels a little routine. Big push on a diagonal. Cross at center. My score: 96.

[N.E. Brigand]

Reading Buccaneers, "Can't Stop, Won't Stop"
Huge hit right at the top, but a lot of synth in there. Also they do have some field micing. I like the light blue half capes (but not the transparent section). Big prop backfield left. Like the Caballeros, they use a lot of field. Less clutter to this show (but Cabs worked around it well). Just one other prop, down right, a lot stage/seat. Body movement. Trombone feature. Two concentric circles marching and playing. A whole lot going on in classic Bucs style, but a little sloppy. Some echoes here of the design for Spartans this year. Guitar soloist seated on prop wheeled across field. Another trombone passage, this time from the big back prop. Also feels a bit like a Blue Devils show: lots of virtuosic elements but more for their own sake than for the music's sake (although don't get me wrong, this is very good). A nice look when the corps is on and around the big prop. Battery feature and then another huge hit from brass. Some balance issues. Some forms not clean. This is the harder show, but is it the more achieved show? I don't know. My score: 95.5 But I probably underscored both corps.

[N.E. Brigand]

And here are the judges' scores, which were just announced:

71.55 -- Columbus Saints
77.125 -- Govenaires
78.725 -- Skyliners
82.525 -- Rogues Hollow Regiment
83.050 -- Cincinnati Tradition
85.375 -- Fusion Core
88.6 -- White Sabers
88.9 -- Connecticut Hurricanes
89.825 -- Atlanta CV
91.2 -- Bushwackers
95.25 -- Caballeros
97.7 -- Buccaneers

DCA doesn't make Prelims recaps available until after Finals.

I look forward to seeing the corps live tomorrow.

[N.E. Brigand]

I made it to Rochester and attended the Alumni Spectacular this morning. Unfortunately, even though DCA Finals don't start for another four hours, they've already sold out of the yearbook that lists all the corps and repertoires, so I don't have all that information (much was announced, but I thought I could just buy the book and didn't write it down: they sold out during this morning's show). I can say that the performing ensembles this morning were:

Tri-Valley Brass (Bergenfield, NJ)
Freelancers Alumni (Sacramento, CA)
Mighty St. Joe's Alumni (Leroy, NY)
Star United (Indianapolis, IN)
Hamburg Kingsmen Alumni (Hamburg, NY)
New York Skyliners Alumni (New York, NY)
Hawthorne Caballeros Alumni (Hawthorne, NJ)

[N.E. Brigand]

DCA's announcer, who is also a member of the Hamburg Kingsmen Alumni, made a couple odd jokes during Freelancers' performance about how unusual it was that one of the members of that group hailed from Utah, "that hotbed of drum corps."

So I think he's unaware of the existence of The Battalion.

But more than that: at DCI's Open Class Finals, I found myself sitting amidst a number of Battalion parents and staff. Not only did some of the Battalion folks recognize the DCA corps t-shirt I was wearing, but the one sitting next to me explained that she had formerly been a member of the three different DCA corps: the Rochester Crusaders, the Empire Statesmen, and the White Sabers. All three of the corps were or are based only about an hour from Hamburg.

[statechamp1239]

What ever happened to Cadets2? Loved them back in 2018 when they went to my school.

[N.E. Brigand]

Sept 3, 2023 17:51:03 GMT -6 statechamp1239 said:

What ever happened to Cadets2? Loved them back in 2018 when they went to my school.

In the wake of the scandals surrounding longtime Cadets / YEA! director George Hopkins, the organization was placed in a difficult financial position and had to cut costs, and so Cadets² was shut down after 2018. The corps lasted seven seasons, with the following results at DCA championships:

2012 -- "Launch" -- 5th place, 91.880
2013 -- "Les Miserables" -- 5th place, 93.750 
2014 -- "Our Favorite Things 2" -- 5th place, 92.600
2015 -- "The Red Square" -- 2nd place, 96.330
2016 -- "Full Circle" -- 1st place, 97.950
2017 -- "Once Upon a Lifetime" -- 3rd place, 95.400
2018 -- "Industrial Awakening" -- 2nd place, 96.050

"Industrial Evolution" was my favorite all-age show of its year.

[N.E. Brigand]

Sept 2, 2023 18:29:48 GMT -6 N.E. Brigand said:

And here are the judges' [Prelims] scores, which were just announced:

71.55 -- Columbus Saints
77.125 -- Govenaires
78.725 -- Skyliners
82.525 -- Rogues Hollow Regiment
83.050 -- Cincinnati Tradition
85.375 -- Fusion Core
88.6 -- White Sabers
88.9 -- Connecticut Hurricanes
89.825 -- Atlanta CV
91.2 -- Bushwackers
95.25 -- Caballeros
97.7 -- Buccaneers

DCA doesn't make Prelims recaps available until after Finals.

I look forward to seeing the corps live tomorrow.

DCA Championship Finals -- Rochester, NY -- Sunday, September 3, 2023

Placements, Scores and Awards (by class except as indicated):

World Class
1. 99.000 -- Reading Buccaneers -- Brass, Visual, Effect, Guard
2. 97.000 -- Hawthorne Caballeros -- Percussion, Drum Major,* Overall Honor Guard*
3. 92.200 -- Bushwackers -- Overall Showmanship (for the battery line)*
4. 91.275 -- Atlanta CV**

Open Class
1. 89.400 -- Connecticut Hurricanes -- Percussion, Effect
2. 89.150 -- White Sabers** -- Brass, Visual, Guard
3. 86.550 -- Fusion Core -- Drum Major*
4. 84.625 -- Cincinnati Tradition

Class A
1. 83.200 -- Rogues Hollow Regiment** -- Brass, Percussion, Visual, Effect, Guard
2. 80.200 -- Skyliners
3. 77.325 -- Govenaires -- Drum Major*
4. 72.200 -- Columbus Saints

*Drum Major, Honor Guard, and Showmanship awards are not part of the scores.

**Indicates Director of the Year for each class, as chosen by fellow corps directors

Prelims Recaps: World Class, Open Class, Class A.
Finals Recaps: World Class, Open Class, Class A.

That was an awesome evening. I'm so glad I was able to get up here for it. No major disagreements on placements or scores, but I hope to say lots more later.

[N.E. Brigand]

Sept 3, 2023 22:47:49 GMT -6 N.E. Brigand said:

DCA Championship Finals -- Rochester, NY -- Sunday, September 3, 2023
Placements, Scores and Awards (by class except as indicated):

World Class
1. 99.000 -- Reading Buccaneers -- Brass, Visual, Effect, Guard
2. 97.000 -- Hawthorne Caballeros -- Percussion, Drum Major, Overall Honor Guard
3. 92.200 -- Bushwackers -- Overall Showmanship (for the battery line)
4. 91.275 -- Atlanta CV (Director of the Year in World Class)

I see that high camera videos of the Finals performances by the Buccaneers, Caballeros, Bushwackers, and Atlanta CV have been uploaded to Youtube, for now. If you have twenty minutes to watch at least the first two, I highly recommend it. (It appears that some multicam videos may also be up.) One thing that I think I mentioned while watching the Prelims stream, that I also noticed in the photos I took Sunday night and in the video above, is that when Atlanta CV flips each of the six pictures representing the wives of Henry VIII, in person and in close-up shots, you could see that the reverse side features a yellow and white floral pattern, but in my photos and in this video, they look plain white.

Edited to add links to video of: Rogues Hollow Regiment.

[N.E. Brigand]

Sept 1, 2023 21:41:00 GMT -6 N.E. Brigand said:

Eric Carr won at least four awards; they were going by too fast for me to keep up. He was also the drummer with the Phoenix mini corps, who played the music of "Little Shop of Horrors."

In fact, he won five medals out of six I&E events (apart from the mini corps) in which he participated, as he notes in this video: he took first place in four solo events, playing tenor drums, bass drums, and two novelty instruments, the "spockenspiel" and the "snenors." He also took first as part of a tenor/snare duet. But he took second on solo snare, losing by half-point to a member of Atlanta CV.

(And he was sitting just a few seats over from me at DCA Finals two nights later.)

[rickofavon]

First time ever watching these weekend warrior corps. I figured I should give the finals a watch considering it'll be the last proper DCA finals for the foreseeable future.

I was impressed. Many of these groups had pretty good execution for the limited rehearsal time they get. Loved the drumline set for Phoenix. Got to see a video he took during it to really appreciate all the aspects of what he was doing.

[N.E. Brigand]

Sept 6, 2023 7:53:09 GMT -6 rickofavon said:

First time ever watching these weekend warrior corps. I figured I should give the finals a watch considering it'll be the last proper DCA finals for the foreseeable future.

I was impressed. Many of these groups had pretty good execution for the limited rehearsal time they get. Loved the drumline set for Phoenix. Got to see a video he took during it to really appreciate all the aspects of what he was doing.

That mirrors my experience eleven years ago when on a spur of the moment decision I drove six hours to Annapolis to see that year's DCA finals, where I first saw performances by fourteen corps I mostly hadn't even heard of before that week. I had first been told there was such a thing as all-age corps (probably still then called "senior" corps) when I was in college marching band by some friends who were DCI fans (there were also two members of the band who had marched in DCI corps, one in Bluecoats and one in Star of Indiana, but I wasn't close to them). I was told that the senior corps weren't as good: in fact, not worth watching. So I never looked into that side of the activity, although to be fair, in those pre-internet years, it was only rarely that I saw drum corps at all. (DCI Finals were broadcast on PBS then, but I didn't know that.) It wasn't until 2012 that I attended a DCA show, and I was blown away. No, they're not as good as the best junior corps. But they're often highly entertaining, and some of them are darn good -- if there were some sort of combined sheets incorporating the criteria of DCI and DCA, I would put this year's Buccaneers' show ahead of those from the Blue Stars and Blue Knights (but I'm very curious to hear how others would rate them comparatively) -- and I was so disappointed to have been misled about the quality of DCA for so many years.

But in 2023, there were only two DCA corps at the top level, whereas in every year 2012-2019, there were three to five.

[N.E. Brigand]

Sept 4, 2023 22:37:21 GMT -6 N.E. Brigand said:

I see that high camera videos of the Finals performances by...

As I notice further 2023 videos online, I'll edit that post to include the links. (Just added a link for the Class A champion.)

Sept 1, 2023 21:50:00 GMT -6 N.E. Brigand said:

The first five DCA Mini Corps scores were inaudible because Box 5 was playing a cover of 'Higher Love" while the announcer read them, so this is all I could make out:
-1. Freelancers -- 98.17
-2. Star United -- 97.50
-3. Northcoast Brass Company -- 93.83
-4. White Sabers -- 92.33
-5. Tri-Valley Brass -- 90.50
I'll fill in the rest after it's published on DCA's website.

I have edited that post to include the other five mini corps scores.

[N.E. Brigand]

The lower center section where I was sitting was full by the time the last corps (Bucs) performed, but I think this video shot at that time facing the audience makes it clear that DCA attendance has a long way to go, and I hope the partnership with DCI makes that happen.